The Best Series (N)ever Watched
As far as hockey goes, the Capitals-Penguins series has everything. Sidney Crosby vs Alexander Ovechkin. Marc-Andre Fleury vs Simeon Varlamov. Evgeni Malkin vs himself. The only thing missing is a large part of the American market.
Sure, regional networks in Pittsburgh and D.C. are covering the games. And Canada is definitely not missing out on any of the action. The problem lies in the fact that Versus is the major national ‘network’ during the week. Granted, reports say that their viewership is up over last year by 50% (according to the NY Times), but that’s still less than 450,000 viewers per game. Game one appeared on NBC Saturday, and ratings were up 40% from a comparable game last year.
It’s at this time of year that the lack of coverage on ESPN comes glaringly obvious, and really does a disservice to the NHL and its product. This series has been one of the better matchups in recent memory. With three of the most marketable young stars in it, the NHL is getting failing grades for getting this in front of viewers.
haha Malkin vs. himself was awesome lol